2018/19 NIKE x NBA Uniform Concepts | TORONTO RAPTORS 6/10

[iamdaviinci]

I haven't been on here in a while, mostly because I told myself, "Don't log back in until you have something worth sharing."

 

This pair of concepts has some similarities to the Utah Jazz concept I most recently posted, though the ideas and inspiration for it came while watching The Finals and wanting to create a better uniform match-up. While these are only Association and Icon Edition uniforms for the Toronto Raptors, I ultimately want to round out a complete set for them as well as one for the Golden State (or San Francisco?) Warriors.

 

The two guiding influences for these concepts were:

 

1) Drake's quote after Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals in which he stated, "We are like a college sports team -- the Toronto Raptors are a college sports team, I promise you." Watching throughout these playoffs, he's exactly right. Raptors fans, the city of Toronto, and Canada at large have come together to create a very college sports-like atmosphere while rallying around this team's run. It's entirely unique to the NBA, so I wanted to capture a bit of that. When I think of college sports, I think of tradition, recognizable color palettes, and block fonts -- so those elements were focused on heavily throughout the design process.

 

2) "What if Barney grew up, what would that look like?" That was something I kept asking myself as a thought about this project. Their '90s uniforms are nostalgically one of my all-time favorites, but I hate the idea of reinventing them in such a similar way. Just make the original a Classic Edition, wear it as many times as you can, and call it a day. The brand can draw inspiration from previous designs, but it ultimately has to keep pushing forward. It has to grow up. 

 

The classic color palette returns sans silver, though black and white are the primary colors while purple and red are secondary colors. The focus on black and white creates a simple, straightforward look while leaving room for liberal use of the secondary purple and red. The emphasis on color is explored through a single, unified striping pattern across the collar and armhole trim, waistband trim, and shorts detailing. 

 

The horizontal striping patterns are given vertical movement courtesy of their descending thickness as your eyes move up the uniform. Another sense of verticality comes from the sublimated vertical pinstripes -- I want to say their are six on each side of the jersey because Toronto is The Six, but it's actually just because I think an even amount of pinstripes creates significantly more balance than an odd amount. The pinstripes are also perfectly linear and vertical as opposed to the jagged design on the original uniforms.

 

Going back to the college sports theme, both uniforms use a bold block typeface that's actually an elongated version of the Raptors' current one. The leveled look feels much more grown up than their current, goofily-arched wordmarks, and the numerals match better as well. Both uniforms use the "TORONTO" script, as college sports teams typically focus on their name rather than their mascot. I know this wouldn't be a popular choice for Nike and the NBA as it could alienate non-Toronto Canadian fans, but I just didn't like the look of the "RAPTORS" script on there....I'd honestly prefer a "NORTH" script over it a la their 2017/18 City Edition, 2018/19 City Edition, and 2018/19 Earned Edition uniforms. 

 

The team's inaugural uniforms also provided more inspiration beyond the aforementioned pinstripes. The oversized numerals may have been inspired a bit by Oregon's giant-numbered Nike football uniforms, but I mostly wanted to fill up that front space in a way similar to how the raptor logo did. That uniform made such great use of space without being too dense in any areas. The back of the jersey reintroduces the nameplate, leveled to fit in with the clean, linear design focus of the uniform. Finally, the left leg of the shorts includes a jagged, negative space maple leaf design in reference to the original uniform's side detailing. (Until working on this project I would've sworn that jagged side detailing was a maple leaf shape, but it turns out it isn't. I had no idea. I think I may have been brainwashed by Artur Wrona's Toronto Raptors concept -- still to this day probably my favorite concept I've ever seen.)

 

That's it for now. As mentioned earlier, I hope to eventually finish this Raptors set as well as a full set for the Warriors. I don't have any direction for any of those other uniforms, though, so we're a ways away on that. Any comments or criticisms you can offer on either or both of these are very much appreciated for now, though. As always, thanks for reading my rambling and looking!

 

Toronto Raptors Association Edition Uniform Concept

 

Toronto Raptors Icon Edition Uniform Concept

[michalekd1]

Great job on Raptors Concept!  Don't love the striping, I think the colors, nameplate and block lettering (love the college inspiration for that) are unique enough.  Leave the striping unique to the Magic. Artur Wrona's Raps concept is the goat, but yours is the goat's cousin.  Love this thread and very much looking forward to a Purple uni. 

[iamdaviinci]

On 6/7/2019 at 9:13 AM, michalekd1 said:

Great job on Raptors Concept!  Don't love the striping, I think the colors, nameplate and block lettering (love the college inspiration for that) are unique enough.  Leave the striping unique to the Magic. Artur Wrona's Raps concept is the goat, but yours is the goat's cousin.  Love this thread and very much looking forward to a Purple uni. 

 

I really appreciate the kind words! Being mentioned in the same family as Artur Wrona's concept means a lot!

 

I'm glad you weighed in on the pinstripes -- along with the maple leaf shorts detailing, that was an element I was really on the fence about. Everything about the uniform was so horizontal with the striping, and once I added the pinstripes in for vertical movement it didn't look right without them! I may tinker with removing the pinstripes but finding an additional detail to add in, likely on the shorts. They feel like they need one more clear Toronto Raptors identifying element.

 

Also, I've adamantly against a purple uniform since starting this project....it just feels a bit too much like a step back towards the '90s for my tastes. However, I went ahead and drafted one up to see how it's received. It's the same design as the Association and Icon Edition uniforms, with the only differences being the strokes around the wordmark and numerals and the contrast-colored maple leaf shorts detailing. The wordmark looks a bit off to me, but I'll be interested to hear your thoughts! Thanks!

 

 

 

Toronto Raptors Statement Edition Uniform Concept

[itsmb8]

I think that design with the current wordmark would be perfect.  In my personal opinion, the current wordmark adds just a bit of flavor and creativity.  Not really a fan of straight, block wordmarks.

[Tore]

[Wiz]

Can i have this template cause way to awesome

[Goallinedesign]

These are incredible! Is the template available for download? 

[timberwolf]

Being from Toronto, I can confidently say that these would sell. That purple jersey is a thing of beauty.

 

A couple nitpicks;

 

I’d like to see one if the Raptor secondary logos on the shorts. The maple leaf is cool, and it looks good, however a Raptor biting into a basketball on the shorts (one of their alternate logos from the 90s) would be gangster. Think Villanova Wildcats white throwback jersey from 2018 (?). It maintained the classic, college feel, with the added ferocity of the wildcat on the shorts.

 

Overall, it’s a really well-done concept and I’m excited to see more.

[Sidney]

@Hoopladawg87 Hi, I love your designs so far. Where did you get that template from? I'd like to get it for my next project. thanks.

[DavidDunn21]

On 12/21/2018 at 6:38 AM, Hoopladawg87 said:

I finally found some time and inspiration to create following the release of this season's Earned Edition uniforms. In some cases, I much prefer the recolored Earned Edition uniforms over their original Statement and/or City Edition counterparts. However, for the Milwaukee Bucks, I think the potential of the Mecca-inspired City Edition template was maxed out with the full Mecca color palette and design. I still like their Earned Edition uniform, as it's nice looking in its own right, but I felt as though the return of the Irish rainbow could be more fittingly applied to last season's City Edition uniform template -- one that clearly emphasized colors and striping. So, that's what this concept is. I've also never been a big fan of their green and red look, so red was removed from the color palette entirely. Nothing revolutionary, but hopefully a nice, simple take that pairs a clean uniform with a fun color palette.

 

As always, your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions are always appreciated!

 

Milwaukee Bucks Earned Edition Uniform Concept

This is absolutely wonderful.  The only thing I would change is I've always felt the stripes should wrap all the way around a la the Nuggets.  But what a beautifully balanced rainbow.  I hate the way this version currently has a single stripe of blue, and of black, with the white next to the cream.  It's completely unbalanced.  I love this though.